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Ana’s victory draws sweet tweeting record

Sunday, 19 January, 2014By Kim Trengove

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Ana Ivanovic’s sensational upset over world No.1 Serena Williams on Sunday rocked the social media world, with the volume of tweeting, posting and chatter hitting record heights in the Australian Open’s social history.

The 18th seed’s 4-6 6-3 6-3 victory drew a total of 123,000 tweets during the match and peaked at 7232 tweets per minute at the conclusion of the upset at Rod Laver Arena.

Not only was it was the most talked-about match of the 2014 Championships, but the result tweeted out on the official Australian Open Twitter account @australianopen was tweeted a record 2427 times, an increase of 400 tweets.

The previous record – 1906 retweets – followed Novak Djokovic's five hour, 53 minute victory over Rafael Nadal in the men’s singles final in 2012.

“A lot of people are happy to see Ana coming good,” said Australian Open social media broadcaster Charlotte James.

“She holds a special place in Aussie fans’ hearts, and this result has delighted everyone.”

Ivanovic has 108,770 following on Twitter and @AnaIvanovic was flooded with well-wishers, as the Serbian star responded after her fourth round victory:

“Thank you so much for all the support I had today. Was amazing time on court for me. Love Aussies love @AustralianOpen #letsgo

Meanwhile @Serena Williams, with a whopping 4,092,035 followers, remained silent about the match while her fans were quick to offer their condolences.

“Serena Williams will be back on top! (Well she's still there), but you know what I mean. #RenasArmy #TeamSerena,” @MrRL Walton tweeted.

“This is just the beginning of the season, Serena Doesn’t Give Up Easily,” rejoined @PegahNzr.

"The ability to engage with players, celebrities and millions of tennis fans around the world has seen this tournament break all sorts of records on Twitter," said Twitter representative, Jonno Simpson.